


A Kind of Magic

by PatchworkIdeas



Series: Drabble Challenges [5]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24881668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PatchworkIdeas/pseuds/PatchworkIdeas
Summary: Magic always has consequences.It's time for Kili to decide what price he's willing to pay - and for what.
Relationships: Fíli/Kíli (Tolkien)
Series: Drabble Challenges [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1729567
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Prompt:  
> Headaches from overdose of magic

“You shouldn’t overdo it like that.”

“Ugh.”

“We could have handled them together, you don’t always have to brute force everything you know?”

Right now, all Kili wanted to brute force was his brothers mouth shut, but his own would not comply, nothing but pitiful groans and wordless pleas for mercy leaving his traitorous mouth.

His head was pounding, the neon stars in front of his eyes were flashing him an undecipherable code and it was a wonder he could understand Fili’s words over the ringing in his ears at all.

He was in agony.

And he had no one but himself to blame.

His magic had come in late, so late that everyone had assumed it had just jumped over him, poor little wingless bird, grounded in a world where flight meant everything.

Fili was the only one who hadn’t given up on him, insisted there was nothing he couldn’t do, even without magic at his finger tips.

He was also the only one scolding and taking care of him after every grand gesture, every grand magic Kili cast.

Kili didn’t need to, most of the time, but he still felt like he had to, the pitying looks and hurtful words, the feeling of being broken that had permeated him so long gone for a glorious moment when he was cheered on, celebrated instead of belittled.

He had to prove himself.

To them, to himself, to anyone but Fili, who thought he was being an idiot and refused to stand by silently while Kili all but flayed himself alive.

Magic had consequences, the greater the magic, the bigger the consequence. Both for the surroundings and the caster.

And Kili had a lot of magic to do a lot of grand gestures with.

They figured that was why it took so long - his body and mind hadn’t grown enough yet to support his unusually high magic abilities.

Most people had to deal with low pain, maybe some exhaustion after using their magic too much.

Kili collapsed.

He doubted his body would ever be strong enough to fully absorb the magic’s backlash. Most days it felt worth it, the pain, the misery, to burn bright and fast now that he could, burn away the shameful years.

But-

“You are going to kill yourself if you continue like this, you know that, right?” Fili’s voice had gone merciful quiet, but the emotional blow hurt even worse than his body did.

Kili knew exactly what Fili wasn’t saying.

‘Don’t leave me.’  
‘Their false adoration isn’t worth your life.’  
‘I can’t do this without you.’  
‘Do you really only live for them, for the people who didn’t care before, and won’t care after?’  
‘I love you.’  
‘I don’t want you to die.’

And Fili would watch him die, someday, if Kili continued on this path.

Fili wouldn’t leave, he would keep healing and taking care of him until there was nothing left but charred ash and broken bones.

And Fili would die with him.

Kili loved the jubilation, the proud smiles, the way he could wipe out a whole group of enemies with nothing but a thought.

He didn’t love the expectation, the demand he do it again and again and again, a wind-up toy used until he broke.

He didn’t want to see Fili break with him.

And maybe, if Kili couldn’t convince himself that he himself was worth fighting for, worth living for, as Fili so often tried to convince him off, then maybe he could live for Fili instead. For the one who had always been there, and always would be.

When the pain finally ebbed out enough that he could force words past trembling lips he didn’t joke, or ask for mercy, just for this:

“Let’s go somewhere else. Somewhere far away, where they will never find us.”

He didn’t say:

‘I love you.’  
‘I don’t want to die.’  
‘I want to live, with you.’  
‘I want to see you smile again.’  
‘I want to have adventures with you again.’  
‘I want to learn how to be better, how to be more than what they see.’  
‘I want to learn how to see what you see in me.’  
‘I want to be free.’  
‘I want us both to be free.’

And Kili didn’t need to see Fili’s smile, enjoy the tender touch to his cheek or the kiss to his forehead, to know that Fili had heard him loud and clear, like he always did.

They had their own kind of magic, removed from everything else, the kind that got him warm and happy and that would never hurt him.

That magic, that love, was worth living for.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for the Prompt:  
> “Is… Is that my name?”

“Is… Is that my name?”

“If you wanted something special, you should have paid more.” The forger just said, counting his money. Kili would have to get used to it, he supposed.

“It’s for the best it’s nowhere near our old ones anyway.” Fili whispered on the way out. They had already made plans, and this was the last step.

The last step before they disappeared forever.

Kili understood it was necessary, he might have been a useless nobody once, but his power made him _someone_ , and someone people were not willing to just let go off.

It was easy to want to disappear where no one would find them - pulling it off was harder. Magic didn’t change that.

But it did help.

Fili hadn’t been happy about his initial idea, to either teleport them both away - insane over long distances, both because of the drain and because they had no idea what they might teleport into - or setting up a pocket dimension of their own, just cutting off the rest of the world. Too extreme, not sustainable, just more of the showy, draining magic he had gotten used to pulling out at every turn. Fili had been kind but stern, and Kili had grimaced, guilty but all too aware that this was a habit he would need time to curb, as frustrating as it was.

They planned, and Kili tried to lay low as good as he could. A precious few had understood when he claimed health issues, most had just been angry, demanding what he once used to give freely. Fili had been all too right - they hadn’t cared about him, only what he could do for them.

In the end, they settled on a mix of their ideas.

They would get new identities, mages of barely any renown, and would find themselves a tiny little flat in some big city, where hands were always needed and no one looked too close.

They would use their combined exceptional abilities - Fili’s precision and control, pulling the most out of every drop of magic he had, and Kili’s outrageous amount of power - to build new spells, new ways of combining and using their magic.

That tiny flat would be little more than a starting point - their real home would be a world of their own, like Kili had wanted, but build over time, with finesse and care and love.

By feeding and growing it bit by bit, they should be able to grow their own little meadow, with a house made for them. They would bring in real soil and real seeds over time, something to feed them and sustain them in a way not even magic could. And they would write the entrance into their very hearts and souls, something only they could share.

Kili could already see it, the vision so clear he could all but will it to life. And he would, they would, piece by tiny piece, anchoring it in themselves and the world around them.

A world build on hope and trust and love. A world just for them, for whoever they wanted to be.

What was a name compared to that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for GatheringFiki's Drabble Challenge 3. You can find all the amazing Drabbles everyone wrote for it [here](https://gatheringfiki.tumblr.com/post/616574547022561280/drabble-challenge-3-the-summary-hello-thank).  
> Go check them out, they are absolutely amazing!

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for GatheringFiki's Drabble Challenge 3. You can find all the amazing Drabbles everyone wrote for it [here](https://gatheringfiki.tumblr.com/post/616574547022561280/drabble-challenge-3-the-summary-hello-thank).  
> Go check them out, they are absolutely amazing!


End file.
